Countless remarkable images have filled our televisions, devices and publications throughout this past solemn week of remembrance, with history both celebrated and made. Three photos stand out as my personal favorites among all others, capturing rare yet powerful moments for the historical record, each of which speaks volumes for itself. RIP 41.
A big record was broken today among U.S presidents, and it has nothing to do with North Korea. John Adams lived to age 90, and so did Herbert Hoover more than a century later. Ronald Reagan made it to 93, as did Gerald Ford, who for a while became the oldest living former president in history. No U.S president has ever made it to his 94th birthday, until today. Happy 94th to President George H.W. Bush! Jimmy Carter will of course join him later this year.
This brand-new construction located at 2002 Loma Vista Drive in the famous and coveted Trousdale Estates neighborhood of Beverly Hills, with a price tag of close to $28 million, offers at least one truly unique feature not to be found in any comparable estate– a certain special appeal to the discerning buyer. On this property– not in the new 10,000-square-foot home that now occupies this land, but rather on this land in the original home that used to be here– lived the “King of Cool,” the one-and-only Dean Martin himself. This fact certainly was not ignored in the new construction process, as from water features and expansive glass, to entertaining openness and ample bar space, the builder wisely chose to emulate the classic crooner’s unmistakable style, updated to present-day standards of course. Such nostalgia, including the daily opportunity to channel Dino’s spirit that no doubt goes on living here, is bound to earn the seller somewhere close to the asking price. I simply hope every bar in the place comes stocked!
If this is where you want to sleep, contact me and let’s make it happen.
Not quite a year after marking his 90th birthday, we must now say goodbye to the truly legendary, one-of-a-kind pillar of “warmth” himself, Mr. Don Rickles. I can only dream of turning insults into a lucrative career, as others will certainly try. Still, no one will ever do it quite like he did.
Equally if not more impressive than a 25-point comeback to victory in Super Bowl LI, is the executor of the coin toss that got it all underway. A welcome and nostalgic appearance preceded the game as the elder Bush couple took the field, 92-year-old George H.W. and 91-year-old Barbara of course, the only living former president and first lady absent from this year’s inauguration. Fittingly enough, their latest public appearance came here two weeks later, a “super moment” indeed.
Among the many, one remarkable first of President Donald Trump’s inauguration stood out, to me at least. That is, a former president attended the event exactly 40 years to the day after taking his own oath of office. The longevity of Jimmy Carter calls for acknowledgement, even while he has more than a year to go before becoming the oldest-living president in history.
And I knew he would. Legendary actor Kirk Douglas celebrated his 100th birthday on December 9, 2016 at the Beverly Hills Hotel of all classic venues, in the company of, among all others, an “old” pal 10 years his junior. (Photo: Pizzello/AP)
